The Phoenix's Devotion
by Ms. Wolf
Summary: Temari takes a much needed and obligated vacation after a very disturbing breakdown, she unwillingly accepts Konoha's invitation to stay and she finds herself relieved from depression with the help of 'old friends' and an unexpected love.
1. Chapter 1

**Title name|** The Phoenix's Devotion

**Summary|** Temari takes a much needed and obligated vacation after a very disturbing breakdown, she unwillingly accepts Konoha's invitation to stay and she finds herself relieved from depression with the help of 'old friends' and an unexpected love.

**Pairing|**Temari-Sakura

**Rated|**M (Mature content) for foul language and inappropriate scenes in later chapters.

**Author Note|**

* * *

><p><em>Hello darling readers;<em>

_Even though I'd like to share a lifetime story with you, I'll make it brief: Temari is one of my favorite characters, nevertheless in this story (and the most of them to come) she and the rest of the characters might be a bit OOC (Out Of Character), truth be told, I could never make them as they are simply because I don't know how to. Anyway this story is rated M for a reason, it __contains explicit and suggestive scenes,__ use of __inappropriate language __and it also involves __girl-on-girl love__ (homosexuality) so if it somehow affects your morals or beliefs please __don't read it__._

_Lastly the story is mostly based on a period of Temari's 'life' so it's a bit (or a lot) slow getting to the romance, but nonetheless there will be so please be patient. __Enjoy__!_

_-XO Ms. Wolf_

* * *

><p>|<em>Naruto and all characters are property of Masashi Kishimoto|<em>

**The Phoenix's Devotion**

"_The phoenix can wing their way through the desert skies and still defying fortune's spite; revive from the ashes."_

_-Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra_

**Chapter 1**

The sunset was barely ending, covering the sky with a golden veil that extended all over the horizon and the gilt mounds, the warm air circled through the rooftops accompanied by a light draught of sand that softly pelted my face. It was silent, cold and I just couldn't help become depressed in such a lonely place. I felt dead and even though I could feel my heart thumping beneath my skin, my blood flow all over my body and the shivers that ran through my spine, I didn't feel alive, something deep inside was missing…

It had been long since I realized I had everything a girl would want: power, money, luxury and boys, but unfortunately it didn't fill me, it never had, why would it fill me now? I wanted more; I wanted happiness, friendship… love.

During the time, I became lonesome, I would lock myself up in my room and cry; I would refuse to go on missions, eat and sometimes even speak. I was angry at everyone but most of all… myself; I wanted to be ok, but I had no idea how to do it, I wanted to ask, but I had no questions, I wanted happiness, but it seemed I could only create misery. I was lost.

Finally after a little bit more than a month, my little brother forced me into talking to him.

"…What do you want?" I knew very well that he was only trying to help and I knew exactly what he wanted but at the time I wasn't the jolliest of persons and intervention was not a happy thought.

"Konoha has invited our family to spend a few days there, you're going on vacation." His gaze was as passive as ever and his voice so calm that it seemed that the words were meant for comfort. Well screw that.

"…I'm not going." I was not in the mood for vacations, especially not in Konoha. Not that I despised it, but seriously, if I wanted a vacation somewhere at this point I wanted a quiet place where I knew nobody, not a reckless city where I knew practically everyone.

"It's not an option Temari you need it and we need to accept the offer. Please pack your bags you leave early tomorrow." It was as simple as that. I was no one to deny an order given by the Kazekage, especially one that could affect our relationship with our allies.

"…Yes…Kazekage" Submissive… _ha_, truth is I had no other choice, I had to go. My stomach started to twist in anxiety and disdain I really didn't want to go, how could I survive a week in Konoha feeling like this?

"By the way Temari… you're staying six months."

Shit.


	2. Chapter 2

|Author note|

_Hello Sweethearts;_

_Thanks for the story alerts and the review (XP)._

_On with the story._

_-XO Ms. Wolf_

|_Naruto and all characters are property of Masashi Kishimoto|_

**Chapter 2**

The morning rays peered through the only window in the room, making my newly shed tears glisten abnormally. I had been crying all night, I was feeling miserable, maybe I was overreacting, maybe I was being dramatic but right now it felt as if my family found an excuse to get rid of me, right now it felt as if I'd lost their love too.

I had no choice but to prepare for departure no matter how I felt, an order was an order, so I wiped my tears, gathered my things and mentally prepared for a two day walk.

Kankuro led me and my half-dozen escorts out of the city. I was not sure if he did it because of an order or because he was trying to cheer me up, either way I was most definitely unpleased.

We got to the village's gates and I kept walking ignoring my brother completely, it seemed only fair since their actions led me to that same conclusion, but before I could leave, he grabbed my hand and pulled me back.

"Look, I'm sorry sis but we didn't know what else to do. This is for your own good, so please don't hate us for it, you know we love you." I knew he meant those words, but it still hurt, it hurt to know that their only solution to me as a problem was sending me away.

"Humph" My stoic response was barely heard, but nonetheless it was because the next thing I knew I was in a tight embrace with my big brother. I couldn't hold back, I was sensible at the time and I loved my brothers more than anything in the world. Tears started to make their way.

"…I'm sorry sis… take care… and please smile again." With that we made our way into the desert.

The morning wind was fresh and carried with it an emotive sigh that gave form to the beautifully carved dunes. The few rays that the sun gave up made the sand glisten like it was a sea of pure gold.

As the day went on, the sun got brighter, the air warmer and for some odd reason I found my thoughts drifting into my past, into that almost forgotten infancy, suddenly my grandmother's words came to mind.

"…_Now you listen closely Temari, you are no regular child; you were blessed by the phoenix and destined to live a very different and hard life, your path does not cross many others and you will face difficulties but you are strong and just like a phoenix you will rise from ashes every single time…"_

It was hard to remember why she had said those words in the first place, I always considered my grandmother to be a crazy old woman, but now that I found myself in the middle of the desert, unwillingly taking a second opportunity at a new life, I wished my grandmother's words were true.


	3. Chapter 3

**|Author note|**

_Hello there;_

_Well, for anyone out there reading the story, here's chapter 3._

_-XO Ms. Wolf_

**Chapter 3**

The singing of the forest birds was enthralling; their soft whistles echoed through the trees making it seem more magical. It had been long since I was out, even longer since I had been in a forest and right now there was nothing I would've loved more than staying in the forest forever, but Konoha was now in sight and there was no stopping.

As we got closer to the gates I felt some small portion of sadness fade away and even managed to smile as I recognized my appointed chaperon: Shikamaru Nara.

"…Umm… Welcome to Konoha, I will be your escort during your stay, feel free to ask, point out or say anything you may need to." His voice as stoic and indifferent as always actually comforted me a bit.

"Well hello Nara, mind taking the luggage?" I said, feigning ignorance to the fact that the luggage was about fifteen suitcases.

"Are you moving here?" He asked obviously not happy with the thought of carrying all of the stuff.

"No actually I'm just visiting" I responded as uninterested as I could. I heard him mutter something under his breath, probably something like '_troublesome woman'_ or something, but in all seriousness, it only made it better.

In the end he got help carrying the bags and my men left the city, since they weren't allowed in. Nara and his escorts guided me to my new and temporary home.

It was a nice apartment, not too small or too big, simply perfect for me; it was away from downtown and close to a quiet park which simply added to its beauty.

"Well… this is it; if you need anything you can ask me or… anyone… I'll see you around." He handed me over a set of keys and a sealed scroll; after being thanked he left. I placed the items on the nearest table and proceeded to examine my apartment.

The apartment color was a cappuccino color that made me think just that. It had a medium bedroom with a not-so-small bed that seemed to be made for five people as well as two bedside drawers and a medium closet. It also had a medium bathroom with a practical tub and a big window that kind of worried me. Next there was the living room that connected with the entrance, furnished with two large and very comfy sofas, a center table and a corner table where I placed the items earlier and finally a kitchen that had been provided with a stove, dish washer, sink, a medium sized table, four chairs and a recently stocked fridge.

As I unpacked my bags I remembered I had brought no ninja clothes except the ones I was currently wearing because as my brother put it, I was not on a mission it was a vacation I had no need to wear other than civilian clothes, if by any chance I _needed_ to wear ninja clothes I could use the traveling ones or Konoha would provide one. So I had no other choice than to stock up on civilian clothes for a period of six months.

The rest of the evening went out effortlessly, no visits, no interruptions and a properly organized closet; it wasn't until the night covered completely the sky when I realized how lonesome I truly was.


	4. Chapter 4

**|Author note|**

_Howdy people;_

_Better late than never, right?_

_Well, here's chapter 4._

_-XO Ms. Wolf_

**Chapter 4**

It was cold, I had been shivering all night and now finally it was morning. I wasn't used to this kind of weather, or to be more specific this kind of cold. It was the beginning of my first day and I was already home sick.

As I gazed through the window pondering about my current state, I remembered the scroll Shikamaru had given me the day before. I sat in the freezing living room with my recently brewed cup of tea and began reading:

_Greetings Temari;_

_It is a great honor for the village of the leaf to have the legendary sand kunoichi here; we hope your stay here is adequate and comforting._

_Our personnel will be at your service if it's required, also Shikamaru will be staying in the same building as yourself for the next six months, if there is something you need, don't hesitate to ask him._

_We also would like to remind you that, as requested by the Kazekage himself, you are not to do any type of kunoichi activities (Including training). Konoha will be treating you as a civilian, therefore you have no access to training grounds, weapons and equipment unless extremely necessary._

_Without further ado, I wish you the best vacations. Enjoy!_

_-Hokage Tsunade_

_PD: Shikamaru stays in B5_

It was just fucking awesome; I was denied any type of kunoichi mission… ok I got that, but not even training? What the hell was I supposed to do meanwhile? Walk? Well as stupid as it sounds I did just that.

I spent most of the afternoon alone in the little park, just watching the clouds drift in the skies, watching little children play and finally the disheartening sunset. I saw the green mountains turn golden brown and the blue skies turn to painful red until finally it was dark again.

The next few days were almost the same; I got up feeling miserable and depressed, in the afternoon I took long walks and came back home to spend the night crying, this vacation thing was not working.

On a late afternoon of the sixth or seventh day I had an unexpected visit.

"You know I was expecting for you to act like the troublesome woman you are, but you never showed up, so I had no choice but to follow you, what's going on?" He looked truly worried as he spoke. I had forgotten about his presence in the building and let myself loose.

"…I' don't know what you're talking about." I wanted to avoid a confrontation of my depressed state. I needed no one to feel pity for me or my current life, especially Shikamaru.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about Temari; your behavior is nowhere near normal or healthy."

"Well, I'm fine, thank you for your concern but I can take care of myself, now if you would please leave, I have things to do." I was being rude and hypocrite, I knew that, but I wanted no one involved, I wanted to be alone, I wanted to be able to cry until I had no more tears, and at the same time I wanted him to stay. I wanted to have him hear me, to make me laugh, to help me out of this darkness, but I wasn't weak I was not going to beg for someone else's comfort.

"Since when 'fine' is used to describe a girl that cries nonstop every day, since when taking care of yourself means not eating or freezing to death at night by refusing to take cover, you're not ok Temari, but you know what since you're busy I'll let you do your 'things', I'll come back tomorrow… we're going on a date."

And with that he left, leaving me dumbstruck and completely angry.


	5. Chapter 5

**|Author note|**

_Hello there;_

_Sorry for the long wait, anyway here's the story_

_-XO Ms. Wolf_

**Chapter 5**

The trees outside swayed with the cool afternoon air, the sun had begun to poise over the farthest mountains and the horizon began its marvelous ritual of color morphing.

I sat there just sulking. The placed smelled like coffee and vanilla, it was warm and people chatted endlessly. I must say it wasn't annoying but that didn't change the fact that I did not want to be there. Also the fact that I was being stared at didn't help.

"What?!" I nearly yelled. I had been dragged here against my will, forced to eat something when I didn't want to and lastly Shikamaru began smirking and that just made me feel very, very uncomfortable.

"You're not here on vacation." I knew he'd figure it out sooner or later, he wasn't called a genius for nothing.

"Humph" …but, it did not mean I was willing to accept that fact.

"Your brother forced you to come here, I bet he didn't know what else to do. From what I've seen this past week I can tell you're in a deep state of depression Temari, you have to stop doing it." He said that with true confidence, he knew he was right, but he was no one to tell me that I was causing my own problems.

"What do you mean I have to stop doing it?! It's not like I chose to be in this state, it's not like I want to stay like this forever, it just happens, I just am." He was right, he always was, I was the one to blame, but that hurt me even more and I just couldn't accept it.

"Tema- …We have company, I've invited some friends." That being said, Naruto, Neji, Tenten and Sasuke appeared.

I greeted everyone and they sat down with us. We chatted about the outcome of the fourth shinobi war, Sasuke's return to the village, our progress as shinobi and of course Naruto's plans as the next Hokage. I was actually having a good time, completely immersed in the conversation to even remember depression.

"I cannot believe this, you unimaginable bastard! I'd been waiting for you all fucking afternoon and you're here having the time of your life!" The high-pitch voice could only belong to one person. I heard Shikamaru mutter something about this being very troublesome.

Ino came stomping from the entrance, to our table glaring daggers at Shikamaru.

"So? What do you have to say for yourself?!" She was pissed and when she caught a glimpse of me she became red.

"Ino I-" Shikamaru began to say but became abruptly interrupted by a now flaming Ino.

"You dumped me because of _her_ didn't you?!" She practically yelled as she pointed at me. I could see her eyes begin to water. Everyone at the table and the whole coffee shop became silent, and we could easily hear her heavy breathing.

"Ino please… Listen, I couldn't find you yesterday so I left a note at your house, I left a note at my door, one in the park and even left you a message with Sakura and Hinata to tell you we'd be here so you could join us." Her breathing lessened and stared directly at him.

"I… I didn't read them, I was at the flower shop yesterday…" She said in an almost-whisper voice while a soft pink blush covered her cheeks.

"…I'm… I'm sorry." she continued.

"It's ok. By the way… you look beautiful." Ok at that point my jaw almost dropped to the floor. Everything this afternoon seemed perfectly normal and even pale in comparison to this… because Shikamaru complimenting _Ino_ just didn't happen in real life.

I saw Ino get a furious shade of red before making her way toward Shikamaru and sitting on his lap. Tenten giggled.

"Someone might want to say something to Temari before she faints." She said in between laughs.

"Oh right… Temari, this is my troublesome girlfriend Ino." _Whoa!_ What the hell?! That was just too awkward. Shikamaru went ahead and got himself the most difficult girlfriend he could find. Now that was something that deserved a celebration.

The rest of the evening passed quickly between laughs and stories. Ino apologized for acting so jealous and we got along pretty well after that. Finally before Shikamaru and I left I got an invitation.

"Hey Temari tomorrow is girls night out, I'll come pick you up around six, so be ready. See you tomorrow!" And with that Tenten took off, not even a chance to say no, oh well!

That day when I got home, I still had a smile on my face and remembered nothing about sadness.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Pointless and obnoxious chatter filed my ears. It seemed nobody knew the meaning of personal conversation, everyone all but screamed, even though the listener was just in front of them. I was beginning to regret coming, I mean besides the noise, the smell was horrible, I got hints of booze, puke and another fetid smell I did _not_ want to identify, but I was giving myself the opportunity to feel alive.

The bar was filled up, I could never imagine such a little place holding in so many people, most of them shinobi of course. We had to make our way in pushing and squeezing, I swear I felt someone pinch my ass twice. Obviously half of the people in the bar were already drunk and the other half we're nearly there.

"Oh c'mon Temari loosen up a bit" Tenten of course was right at home here, from the moment we got here, she danced to the music while downing her drinks. She was still doing both.

We had gotten to the little bar around ten and waited a while for the other girls.

Ino appeared first, I swear the girl needs no booze to get in the party mood, she arrived dancing and grinding to random people. I still don't believe she and Shikamaru could actually make a couple.

A few minutes later Hinata showed up, I didn't even see her come in, of course as it turns out, her party outfit was exactly the same as her shinobi one except for the ponytail on her head.

She sulked for the most part of the evening until Ino began to fill her up with drinks.

"Hey Hinata what the hell is wrong with you girl! You're in a bar baby, come on show us a little bit of skin." Hinata blushed furiously at Ino's request. Nonetheless she complied and took her jacket off. Of course Ino by then _was_ drunk and Hinata, well Hinata wasn't herself anymore.

"Where the hell is Sakura?" Slurred Ino, she was really near of being completely wasted and was using Tenten as her support while literally screaming in her ear.

"Oh Ino shut up! You're going to leave me deaf and I don't know she said she would be here at nine, what time is it?"

As an instinct I turned to the door to double-check if she wasn't coming, that's when I caught a glimpse of bubblegum pink hair making a way through the now much larger crowd.

Once she made it through the crowd, I noticed, how time changed our memories.

"Hey girls, sorry I'm late, I came here from the hospital, I didn't even have time to change… Oh hi Temari! I didn't realize you were in Konoha." The pinked haired nin looked really different, I was perplexed.

"Uh… Temari?" I was still trying to realize what had changed when I saw that confused look on her face, it made me realize that sadly yes, I was staring.

"Oh, I'm sorry Sakura it's just that you look somehow different…"

"See, told you!" She shouted at Ino.

"Oh shut it Sakura, different does not mean better" Ino snapped.

"Whatever. Oh and yes Temari, it's the hair. I finally let it grow." But it wasn't just the hair that had grown, the girl had grown also, this was no a teenager anymore, this was a woman, a woman with all of her curves.

Or maybe it was the skimpy nurse outfit. Who knows?

Then I saw the same look. I was ogling again… at her cleavage. Shit.

"I hope I don't look like a complete slut, this outfit isn't mine I borrowed it from a colleague today because mine was missing so it's a bit tight." _…and short. _Her words were directed at me and I could tell she was a bit embarrassed.

"Don't sweat it Sakura, you look hot! If I wasn't with Shikamaru I'd probably be all over you... Again" Ino was now _completely_ drunk, and her words were barely but nonetheless they were. Both Sakura's and Hinata's cheeks were proof of it.

"Ino!" Sakura looked really embarrassed. One could tell something did happen, but it was not time for _those _questions.

"You look ok." I had to admit she did look good, well maybe hot is the correct word here.

"Thanks"

The next few hours were a blast, full of laughter, jokes, booze and dancing. Around eleven Tenten thought it was best to take home Ino and Hinata, who was now trying to take off her shirt, before anything _bad _happened. That decision left Sakura and me alone at the bar.

"You know, you and I barely spoke since the last time we saw each other." Sakura commented.

The last time we actually spoke was when the 'little' incident with Gaara almost took his and Kankuro's life; she was indeed the one who saved him.

"Yeah, I guess we've both been busy on missions…" Now that was a lie, I was busy crying and hadn't gotten the slightest delight in coming to Konoha. She on the other hand _was_ probably away due to missions.

"Well that must be your case, I actually don't go on missions anymore, I run a big part of the hospital and I've been permanently assigned there." She looked really proud when she said that, I guess that was a nice change in her life and now I knew why her hair had finally grown long.

We spoke a bit more about our last encounter, my _'vacations'_, her new job, Naruto, Gaara and even Tsunade, but it was getting late and we had to go.

On our way out she stopped at the door and somehow looked rather shy.

"Well it's been really nice talking with you Temari. You know tomorrow is my day off maybe, if you want to of course, we could have coffee together?"

It was a good idea and I did need to go out more. "Sure, why not." But somehow it felt as if I had just accepted to commit a sin.

"Great! I'll see you in the coffee bar at 10. Bye!"

As I waved goodbye to the pinkish girl a small smile appeared on my lips…

_Haruno…_


End file.
